Morgan County gets federal disaster declaration

Only for public assistance so far, not individuals

By Jenni Grubbs

Times Writer

Posted:
10/02/2013 10:45:34 AM MDT

This nature and hiking trail at Riverside Park that runs alongside the South Platte River was washed out during flooding in September after a breach in the levee sent a rush of water into the park. Newly approved federal disaster assistance funds could be applied to repairing some of this damage. (Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times file photo)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday added Morgan County to its list of now 10 Colorado counties eligible for public assistance due to flooding in September.

That federal disaster declaration, which was approved by President Barack Obama, was what the county needed so that public funding could become available to help pay for debris removal, repairing or replacing lost or damaged infrastructure and reimbursing for disaster-related costs.

The FEMA Public Assistance Program only applies to governmental and quasi-governmental agencies, though, according to Morgan County Commissioner Laura Teague. Morgan County and its municipalities were approved for all categories of this type of assistance.

Assistance for individuals is part of a separate FEMA program and would require another declaration, she said.

"I heard that Gov. Hickenlooper was trying really hard to get that done," Teague said, adding that the governor may try to get a statewide declaration for that rather than county by county declarations.

She credited U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner with helping push for getting the public assistance declaration for Morgan County.

Teague said that while individuals will not yet receive help, the current federal disaster declaration did pave the way for Morgan County Quality Water District to receive aid for its needed repairs, and the county could get reimbursed for costs for repairing and replacing bridges, among other things.

The list of counties that now have federal disaster declarations and are eligible for public assistance includes: Adams, Clear Creek, El Paso, Jefferson, Logan, Morgan, Washington and Weld.

Teague said she initially heard about 1 p.m. Tuesday that the declaration likely was coming, and then right before 2 p.m. the commissioners got official word from Sen. Mark Udall's office that it had happened.

"We had estimated we had about $8 million in damages," Teague said. "We are healthy in reserves, but it would be difficult for us to do the repairs quickly on our own."

She said the federal public assistance would mean being able to do things more quickly and likely the possibility of using more local contractors.

The county had been operating as if no federal disaster aid would be coming, Teague said, so getting the disaster declaration was an exciting thing for the commissioners.

"It will definitely help us repair things affected by flood damage," she said. "I don't think it will be immediate, but it certainly will help our budget."

Fort Morgan City Manager Jeff Wells announced the county's federal disaster declaration at Tuesday night's Fort Morgan City Council meeting, saying that it should help the city get funds for repairs to flood-affected city infrastructure, as well as Riverside Park.

"We will be eligible for certain portions of the park to be part of that public reimbursement," Wells said, "so that we can receive funds to replace some of that park.

"Some of the trails that we have back in that area, they've been developing and working on for a decade or more or decades. So it's going to take some time to put those back. And ultimately, our first goal is public safety and making sure nobody gets hurt."

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. Full Story

Sufjan Stevens, "Carrie & Lowell" (Asthmatic Kitty) Plucked strings and pulsing keyboards dominate the distinctive arrangements on Sufjan Stevens' latest album, and in the absence of a rhythm section, they serve to keep time. Full Story